Alcohol
Santa Maria Winery
Truly Tuscan
“A glass of wine demands you sit and have a conversation.” -John Guinan, Owner
You haven’t seen a renovation transformation until you’ve seen the beautiful Santa Maria Winery, located in the old Wittrock auto dealership and gas station in Carroll, Iowa. Owners John and Rose Guinan bought the building in 2007 after viewing the property for only 15 minutes, knowing it would be the perfect site for their dream winery. The Guinans spent a year and a half renovating the building, making sure to keep many of the original ceilings, floors, doors, stairs and other historic pieces. Shortly after renovating, Santa Maria Winery open its doors in the summer of 2009.
Walking into the Santa Maria winery, you immediately feel the Tuscan theme which was inspired by the Guinans’ trip to Italy. The winery includes a tasting room, event center, dance floors, Tuscan bridal balcony, fireplaces and an outdoor piazza. The winery also features artwork from Tom Moberg, a landscape sculptor who resides in Des Moines but creates sculptures around the country.
The plan was originally for a small winery serving meat and cheese, but it quickly evolved into a winery hosting tours and welcoming guests to their restaurant, open for both lunch and dinner. Santa Maria Winery offers a full menu of soup, salads, sandwiches and delicious brick oven pizzas that cook in only a few minutes. The dinner menu expands to include steak, pork, chicken and pasta that each come with multiple sides.
It’s hard to believe all of Santa Maria Winery’s achievements within the short period they have been open. In two years, five of their wines received medals from the Finger Lakes National Wine Competition including Voilá, Edelweiss, Barbera, Brianna and Syrah. Santa Maria Winery produces 22 wines and is looking forward to their upcoming chocolate wine. One of the famous wines from Santa Maria Winery is Rhuby Dooby, a wine made of Iowa grown rhubarb.
Santa Maria Winery has two harvests; one harvest from grapes grown in Iowa, and the other from grapes grown on the west coast. Wine making is a very lengthy process from growing grapes to the point of bottling the wine. For example, Santa Maria Winery is currently bottling wine from 2007. About 10,000 cases of Santa Maria wine was sold this year and 40,000 to 50,000 bottles of wine wait in the cellar, ready for delivery.
Some may ask how John and Rose got into the winery business in the first place. John spent most of his life as an entrepreneur and began making wine as a hobby in 1998. The Guinans decided they wanted to create a business of their own and started searching for a site near their home in Omaha. Having no luck, the Guinans knew they had to look outside of Nebraska and started searching for locations in Iowa, because Iowa’s laws are more beneficial to small businesses and native wineries. The Guinans finally found their destiny and bought land for their vineyard next to the church where they were married, St. Mary’s Church in Willey.
The Guinans talked to over 25 wineries to figure out what works and what doesn’t. They visited wineries to collect tips and advice, as well as to gain inspiration for their own winery. Considering it more as helping the wine industry in general instead of competition, John stated he would gladly return the favor and help anyone who came to him for suggestions.
With the incredible renovation, you will never guess it used to be an old auto dealership and gas station. The Guinans successfully created a place out of a historically significant building to something enjoyable for the community. You can easily say Santa Maria Winery is exactly what the Guinans hoped for: the perfect place to sit, talk and drink.
Visit Santa Maria's webpage for more information.
